Homemade Naan

Naan

Naan – the easiest homemade Indian naan recipe that you can make on skillet. Fluff and soft naan that tastes like Indian restaurants.

I love naan, or Indian flat bread at Indian restaurants and buffets. I would load up a bunch of them and stuff myself silly with chicken tikka masala. Naan is so good, soft, puffy, airy, with the beautiful golden brown spots on the surface.

I love naan so much that I have to develop a naan recipe that is easy, fail-proof, and cooked on a skillet. You don’t need a tandoori oven for restaurant quality naan. All you need is a cast-iron skillet, and heat it up on high heat so it’s super hot and cook the naan. The high heat makes the dough rise and fills the middle part of the naan with an air pocket. Brush the fresh-off-the-skillet naan with some melted salted butter and top them with cilantro leaves and everyone will think that they are from an Indian restaurant!

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Hi Laura, I’ve not tried doing that myself. Since it’s not yeasted, there is no chance of over-proofing. Just be careful as it does have milk and youghurt in it and if it’s warm where you live, it may spoil? Really not sure!

I loved the recipe as well. It was a little sticky but after adding flour it was perfect. I also didnt have plain yogurt so i used sone of the kids vanilla yogurt and turned out great but i eat it with butter cinn and sugar too. Great homemade naan will be making again regularly.

Such a great recipe. The dough was sticky but it meant plenty of moisture so after I it needed and left it, it rose perfectly and was easy to roll out with some flour for dusting. Family enjoyed the naans. Thank you for sharing this recipe it’s definitely one I will be using for years to come!

It’s a great recipe, I tried it on Easter, my cousins kids loved the naan. It was soft and delicious. The only thing I want to know is that if there’s a way to make the naan fluff up a little? It was a little flattish apart from that brilliant recipe. Thanks

I’ve read a few comments where people are talking about sticky dough, when they said they used 3/4 cup of warm water, but the recipe that I’m reading only calls for 1/2cup of warm water. I checked the recipe several times and its the same. I also know that warmer water (110-115) will keep the dough a little dryer, and, also 110-115 degrees is needed to properly activate the yeast for a nice tender bread. Just heat some water, and check the temp. with a thermometer. If its hotter, let it cool so that it doesnt kill the yeast and then it won’twork at all. A lot of people probably know this, but newer bread makers might not. I’ve made yeast breads, but not naan yet. I’m going to try it now. Looks like a good recipe!

I’m going to try this in my mixer next time. This first time the dough was a sticky mess that could not be handled even after adding an extra cup of flour. I trust that your recipe is correct, I just know that I am not an experienced dough-handler in any regard. For any other newbies thinking of trying this, I suggest using a mixer as well.

Am I reading the same recipe as everyone else? The comments don’t match the instructions in the recipe (e.g. 1 hour proofing vs 2 hrs and adding water to one side of the naan before placing it on the skillet). So confused.

Hmmm, is your yeast old? Make sure you use new yeast. Also maybe the dough hasn’t proof enough. Also the heat has to be intense so it creates the air inside the naan so they puff up. Mine was soft and fluffy just like the pictures.

I used to make your naan, but I came back to the recipe and it has changed! Can I still find the original anywhere? Where you actually flip the naan and skillet over the direct flame? This was my favorite! Please repost!

Dough was very sticky. Really, the recipe should be in weight, preferably grams. Everyone measures cups of flour differently. 2 cups of AP flour is 250 grams. 1/2 cup of yogurt is 142 grams, of which 1/2 or 71 grams is liquid. 1/2 cup of water is 113 grams. So 184 grams of liquid divided by 250 grams of flour = a hydration factor of 74%. That is very sticky dough. Too sticky to handle, too sticky to roll out. Also. flour without 1.5 to 2% salt is tasteless. Why not include salt as 2% of flour weight (in this case 5 grams)? Then if people choose to brush melted butter on the naan, they can use unsalted butter.

There are a lot of differences in how people measure flour. I’ve found that with most recipes, if it doesn’t call for “sifted” flour, then I need to use the measuring cup to scoop the flour out of the bag, which packs it into the cup somewhat. If I pour from the bag into the measuring cup, it is less packed and most recipes end up too wet/sticky. That is one reason why some very precise recipes call for weight rather than volume. If you find the recipe seems too wet, try changing the way you measure your flour. I often forget and end up with very sticky dough, so I’m trying to remember this for myself! :)

Loved this! Was so easy to make. Finally no more store bought naan with my chicken korma. I can make my own! I just added a bit more flour as my dough was too sticky. Other than that I didn’t change anything to the recipe. Thanks for sharing!

I notice some people are having wet dough issues. It should be noted, certain brands of flour contain more protein than others. Resulting in a dryer mix when combined with water. The more protein, the more water is needed. Also, the method of kneading by hand or a mixer will determine how less/more water you need. Just a FYI. No need to criticize the recipe. This is a standard naan/pita recipe. I use this ratio through out the week. Initial dryness varies depending on how cheap I was being when purchasing flour at that time. I do add a tsp of salt in the dough, don’t use butter with my naan.

It is also true that the moisture level of the flour and the humidity in the air on the day you make dough has an effect, not to mention other aspects of weather. I used to bake bread for a living in my younger days and noticed this, and many other subtleties. The truth of baking any kind of bread is that if you want it right you have to do it consistently. The nice thing about this excellent recipe, that it is for a small batch, is perhaps also why some have trouble. They aren’t being exact in their measurements, or their methods of measurement.

Hi Theo, thanks for your very useful comment. For those who are having trouble, just add a little more flour and the dough should be fine to work with. I have had no problems with this homemade naan recipe and I always make them. :)

precise bread baking does not make sense using volume (take a coup of flour and slap it twice on your desk and you will be able to add more flour due to volume changes). Better is to use grams (as also some very famous US artisan bakers suggest).

Using your conversion table I will end up at a total wet dough with a hydration of more than 82%. Although you say measures worked with others – it will not work for me (and believe me I bake a lot of high hydration doughs). Randomly adding flour to the dough to make it stiffer is a not a satisfying and reproducible baking experience.

Therefore I adapted the recipe to a hydration of 72% (TA 172) and weigh my ingredients (using weights you can easily increase or decrease hydration by 1% steps – you are under control and not your dough :). Also increasing fermentation time (due to lower yeast amounts and no sugar) will help increasing the overall flavor complexity.

Use the the water and the yogurt and (shortly) mix the flour and let rest for eat least 30 min. for better gluten developmen (no big kneading needed)t. After that add fresh yeast (no sugar!), salt and oil (I used some ghee). I use the stretch and fold method every 30 min. afterwards. I did 3-4 s&f rounds. Bulk fermentation will take another 1-2 hours (depending on room temperature). Afterwards divide and shape and let rest the small balls for 15-20 mins (gluten relaxation).

Chris, thanks for your revised recipe. This is not a baking recipe even though there is a dough, you make the naan on skillet. Anyway, I have made this many times with no problem. If the dough is sticky, then add a little bit more flour. That’s that only thing you need to do.

Made this tonight, it was a hit. The dough is supposed to be sticky, if not then your nann will not be soft. It is unlike bread or pizza dough with a smooth non sticky texture. Trust the author of the recipe when she says she made it countless number of times with success. Flour your hands before shaping the dough into balls, dip it into the flour and shake of excess flour then your dough will not be sticky anymore and ready for rolling.

Tried this today, guess I am lucky live in the desert so I had no issues. Followed this exactly and worked just fine. I will admit the flour well kind of had me going for a minute, but used my handy dandy scraper and all was good. Was wonderful with my chicken curry. Will make again.

Can I use mini oven instead of stove? I have cast iron skillet. Maybe I can preheat the skillet together with the oven? But max temp of my oven is only 220C. By the way if cooking in the skillet on stove, do you mean using max. heat all the time?

I have used the oven with cast iron for other flat bread recipes (pita ) and the oven was a hot 500 F to get the stone/iron hot enough to produce air pockets. 220c is 428 F. If you try this, let your skillet heat up for a substantial period, and allow the oven to reheat between breads. I used a cast iron griddle so that I could do 2 breads at a time

Thanks for the great recipe. I used half whole wheat flour and half normal flour and it was great. Next time I may replace sugar by honey as I have seen in some restaurants… Ps sorry for some reason I can t select the 5 stars but it deserves it.

Just made this for the first time. It is a sticky dough. Lightly dust hands with flour when working with it after it has proofed.

Used dough hook in stand mixer. I worked it a little less time focusing on the dough ball coming together, the smoothness of the dough and shininess. I let in rise for the hour and made two naan breads for dinner. It was soft and crispy and my husband was impressed. Thank you for this delicious easy recipe.

Omigod these were the best thing ever. I’m so grateful to have come across your site. Uber easy to make – so tender, fresh and delicious!!! Instead of adding extra flour that some posters commented on (it can really toughen the dough), I just added a little more oil when kneading and then another tablespoon when setting to rise. A dusting of flour when rolling and that was it! The recipe as written was perfect and spot on!! I can’t wait to explore the rest of this site for more delicious wisdom!! Thank you so much!!!

Love this recipe. The dough was sticky but with a little more flour it was fine. The naan didn’t bubble up a lot but i think it was because i was too in a hurry to taste it and didn’t let the skillet to heat enough. Otherwise it was perfect and i will do it again for sure.

Actually I’m a novice in cooking. my mom challenged me that naan is very difficult and asked not to go by online recipes. i tried this and prepared it so well. even as a first timer i could do it well. thanks you so much .

We lived in Abu Dhabi for many years and we were craving Indian bread. Naan is not available in small towns in southwest USA. Found this recipe on line. Followed the recipe without deviating. Family loved it. Definitely a bread that we will repeat. Thanks

Been surfing the net looking for a stove top skillet version of naan. Haven’t made your recipe yet but will do so at the weekend. Looks incredible, and incredibly easy to do! Will be back with a rating after trying it out. And weighing in on the sticky dough issue, I wonder how many people are aware that there are two ways to measure – with wet ingredients and dry measuring utensils. I suspect that lots of people may be using a pyrex measuring cup to measure their flour (less cleanup). Not advisable because one is liable to end up with inaccurate measurements possibly leading to too-wet dough. Best to have a set of dry measuring utensils where one can fill, for eg, flour, to the brim and swipe off excess with a knife. Aside, as others have commented, success, or not, also depends on the type of flour used and the climactic conditions where the naan is being made. BTW, great website, keep up the good work and recipes!

Well, that’s amazing. I made this tonight and we couldn’t get enough! It was delicious and so simple – makes me wonder why I’ve been buying store-bought naan for so long! Thanks for this great recipe! :)

First time making Naan ….. Amazingly easy … turned out great! No more store bought Naan for me. I only made a few for my husband and I to have with my hummus and first attempt at Chicken Shawarma. I’ll finish off the rest tomorrow and Wednesday.

I love naan but never thought I could make it. When I buy it premade in the store, it seems too dense and thick. I made it with your recipe yesterday and it was wonderful! Thank you! I am trying to limit fats and your recipe seems very low fat for Naan. Any chance you could give us the nutritional info for the ne serving?

I used whole wheat flour because that’s what I had in hand. They still puffed up perfectly and weren’t too bitter. Amazing recipe. I can’t wait to try it with regular flour. I do think I put too much oil in the pan at first. The dryer the pan was the more they puffed up and got that crisp burned outside.

It looks like a great and easy recipe to go with my chicken tikka masala. The store bought naan is too thick so I’m going to try to make it myself. I love garlic naan. When would I add minced garlic to recipe?

Thanks very much for this recipe! We made this last night with one substitution: since we never have yogurt in the house, we subbed in milk and a splash of lemon juice (for the “tang”). It made the best naan I have ever had, and I’ll never buy premade again!

For those noting the lack of salt: you can certainly add some but you won’t need to if you’re brushing with salted butter or if you’re serving it as an accompaniment to a flavourful main dish.